Just Another Commodity
by X3
Summary: A How Beka Met Harper story. Personnel Unlimited Inc. - Consider it Done
1. *One*

Just Another Commodity

By: X

X0832001@yahoo.com

Rated PG-13 for Cursing 

Disclaimer: I own nothing and am getting no money

The building in front of Beka was utterly huge. There was a large central building as well as wings that branched off like the arms of an angry octopus. It was actually the only structure on this little moon. The owner of Personnel Unlimited Inc. owned his own moon. If that wasn't a showy display of wealth she didn't know what was. But, this organization was respected and she had heard good things about anyone who had used them. 

A fight with some Neitzchien pirates had left the Maru barely flyable. Beka's piloting had kept their butts alive; but the Maru was in bad shape. Her ship was in bad shape and she lacked 1 resident engineer. The last guy had quit 3 weeks ago without notice when he got a better deal. Beka had still owed him 300 thrones back pay. Well, he certainly wasn't going to see that money. Beka had come to this moon to spend it on a substitute.

Crossing the threshold into this building she saw at least 60 people in the large main room, most of them moving around hurriedly. A grand desk was in the center of the room. Behind it a woman was typing furiously, occasionally glancing at her screen. Beka approached this desk. The receptionist looked up. "Can I help ya doll?"

"Yeah, my name is Captain Valentine. I need someone to help me." The woman laughed

"Oh, you need that kind of help. We should be able to help you out. Are you into blondes or brunettes?" Startled, Beka responded

"Not that kind of help! An engineer!"

"Well Missy, you need to specify! We have people that do everything around here." The woman typed in a few commands. "Any job specifically?"

"My Slipstream Drive is offline"

"Any other way you want me to narrow this down?"

"I just need a good engineer. I don't care about any other qualifications"

"Well Captain Valentine, we have 154 employees that meet that query. 154 is a lot of files to review."

"They should be able to take orders well."

"128"

"Have experience- at least 2 years here"

"74"

"Still 74?"

"Yes"

"Speak Common"

"68"

"You have 6 guys who don't speak Common? Never mind, obviously you do. How about a smart fellow; read, write, at least an 80% the standard aptitude tests."

"42"

"At least a 90%"

"30"

"95%"

"10"

"Human" she didn't mind aliens by any means, but she had to get the number down. 

"4"

"Excellent, that's enough" The secretary pulled out a small pile of papers.

"Fill these out and 523 here will pull the files." She absently gestured to the back of the room lined with file cabinets and specifically a girl opening and closing a few drawers.

The folders were pulled and set on the desk by the wreck of a girl. She was about 12 years old, thin as a rail and dark circles helped the sharp protruding check bones to shadow her big green eyes. She dropped the files, pivoted on her heel and headed back to her wall of file cabinets located behind this main secretary's work area. Beka watched the girl go, poor kid. Opening the 4 files in front of her she spread their contents over the desk. She saw the faces of 4 more poor kids. 

Beka took a deep breath. But, just because life dealt you a tough hand didn't mean she had to hire them. She'd had hard times too, and she'd have harder times if she wasted her money on a no talent engineer. So Beka read through the files. She was a little surprised to see how much work these fellows had done. It actually looked like they were competent. 

On the left side of the folder was a photo. On the right were there recent jobs, history with the company, notes made by other people who had hired them and a very short note on their life before the company. They were very complete records. Beka was pretty impressed so far. She noticed despite the fact she hadn't specified age all 4 contenders were young. Looking around at the people bustling about the room she noticed everyone here was young. She pushed her observation to the back of her mind and looked through the papers before her.

349211 was hot. No other way to describe him. He was a man in his mid twenty's with beautiful green eyes and jet black hair. She wasn't picking an engineer based on cuteness though. Bobby was hot but a terrible engineer. One pretty boy per ship was all she needed. The kid's qualifications in the engineering department looked a little exaggerated. A little more reading let on why. 09211964 was a little more experienced in another area; the area of overnight companion. Beka was not a shy girl but she blushed at the rave reviews. Beka closed that file and pushed it towards the side of the desk to focus on the remaining 3 applicants.

082420 was a dirty, scrawny kid of about 19. Sparkling blue eyes and crooked smile looked surreally out of place in the boy's thin, sallow face. Fresh stitches were only slightly covered by the kid's blond shaggy hair. He was listed as a "weapons expert extremely well versed in all areas of ship repair and a generally creative thinker". 

"That means he's a Crackpot" muttered Beka. He was a crackpot with good reviews though. 

771983 was a girl; about 17 in Beka's opinion. She was petite and waify. She seemed to have the most experience. Reading the file Beka also noticed 771983 had recently shattered a portion of her right scapula as well as cracking her ulna and currently had little use of that hand. Well, she hadn't specified "uninjured" or "healthy" so she couldn't really be surprised 00771983 came up in her search. Well, no use for her. Hopefully she'd recover use of that hand and find work. Beka pushed the file over with that of the industrious prostitute. 

71018 was her final choice. Another young man, 71018 was qualified. His specialty was Slipstream drives. The Maru's drive was in bad shape. He had a spotless record and had never been disciplined or given a bad review. He was described as "A reliable, capable young man". 

"Dull as a stone" Beka translated. 

Before her were a dull guy and a crazy guy. Her options suddenly looked a lot more limited. 082420 was from Earth, 71018 was from Equinus Prime. So one was from a hell-hole the other a boarder line hell-hole 71018 had graduated from an engineering program, 082420 had no education listed. She had to pick one. It seemed pretty easy. Yet for some reason she leaned towards the crackpot. His file said he was competent, and if Beka had to spend the next few days with this guy he might as well be interesting. Besides it wasn't like she would have to put up with him for the next 5 years or anything.

"This one" she finally said, handing the file to the receptionist. The woman nodded and tapped her keyboard. She leaned forward to a microphone on her desk.

"82420, report to the lobby, 82420 lobby". 82420 arrived in less than a minute. The photo had been pretty recent. The stitches were out but a trace of them remained as a pink line drawing attention to the upper right corner of his forehead. He smiled his surreal crooked smile at her. "Good Day Ma'am" 

"It will be if you live up that record of yours"

"I wouldn't worry about that." he assured her. The secretary cut into their casual banter.

"You pay by day, day ends at 2300." Beka nodded. Her employee was already halfway to the door. He knew the rules. 

Beka looked at him in the light when they got outside. He was thinner than she had thought. Picking up on their small talk she asked, "So, 082420, please tell me you have something shorter I can call you."

"Well Ma'am, people around here generally call me call me 824"

"Somehow I doubt Mama 824 wants her baby called a number." He smirked. 

"Well then to you and my dearly departed mother I am Seamus Zealazny Harper. Preferably just Harper; and you are?" 

"Captain Beka Valentine"

"Nice to be workin' for you boss. What seems to need doing?"

"You'll see when we get to the Maru; we've been in a bit of a scrape."


	2. **Two**

Just Another Commodity

By:  X

X0832001@yahoo.com

Rated PG-13 for Cursing 

Disclaimer:  I own nothing and am getting no money

"A bit of a scrape" was quite an understatement.  The Maru had never looked so bad.  Before he had even crossed the threshold Beka could see her little engineer diagnosing problems and making notes on a little pad that had appeared magically from somewhere in his low hanging tool belt.  Drawing her attention away from the boy muttering to himself she looked around for Rev.  

Beka didn't see Rev approaching from a doorway behind her.  She heard the door open and the familiar shuffle of the Maggog's feet.  What Beka saw was the boy jerk his head up so fast she expected whiplash.  Terror was in his eyes as he drew himself back against the smooth metal wall.  Rev made the mistake of opening his fang filled mouth to speak.   Harper made a strangled cry and shocked Beka by literally climbing the walls.  

The kid leveraged one foot on one wall, the other on the opposite side of the corner and jammed his fingers in a gap in the deck plates above his head.  He was mere moments away from swinging through the ceiling when Beka found her voice.  Stepping between her Wayist and her engineer she barked "Get down here monkey man.  Rev is safe."

"He's Maggog" snarled the boy.  It took this long for Beka to remember her bony young man was from Earth.  Earth was a world ravaged by Maggog and under the tyranny of the Neitzchiens.  Rev was probably not going to win any popularity contests among mudfoots like this boy.  

"Rev, can you make yourself scare for a while?"  The Wayist nodded and retreated.  When he was gone Harper hopped down from his perch.  He was glaring warily at Beka.  "I forgot to warn you about Rev."  

"You have a Maggog on your ship!"

"He's a Wayist monk, he's safe."

"Maggog are not safe" he sighed and pulled out his pad again. Beka had to admit she was slightly surprised at how quickly he had gotten back to work.

"So you are OK with this?"

"You need me, you hired me, and I'll do my job.  Keep him away from me and we'll be just fine Ma'am."  Harper headed for the engine room, eyes darting from side to side in search of the Maggog.  

The kid sure was industrious.  Once he got the lay of the land Beka couldn't stop him from working. She watched him for a few minutes but it was clear he didn't need her help.   He was a brilliant crackpot.  After spending a few hours setting up the details for her next salvage run she went to check on the boy again.  She found a boot sticking out of the wall.  Rolling her eyes at the bizarreness she found a panted leg attached to the boot.  Further investigation revealed the rest of the Personnel Unlimited Inc. employee wedged in her Slipstream core. 

 "Hell-lo" she called.  The boy snapped to attention so fast he just missed smacking his head on the roof of his little tunnel.  Hands down and now leaning back on his elbows in order to make eye contact with his boss the kid waited for her to speak again.  "Just seeing how repairs were coming."

"Right on schedule Ma'am"

"Harper, don't call me Ma'am."  He nodded.  "Now this schedule, since you get paid by the day I assume it has you finishing in what?  A week?"

"No Ma'-Boss" he smirked "I'll be all done here tomorrow."  Beka was shocked.  Harper smiled.  Looking around if she ignored the scattered tools she could see repairs had been made.  She was pretty impressed.  

"Keep up the good work then"

"Right-O Boss" He twirled a welder in deft fingers and got back to work.

Beka left the kid alone again and went to open her mail.  It was mostly bills and credit warnings.  She had expected to be out at least a week for repairs.  If the kid was true to his word she could afford to take on a short run for the day after tomorrow.  She plopped down in her chair and looked through the few offers she had.  Her luck held out and the final note was just what she was looking for.  She sent a reply to the sender and stood up.  This was really turning out to be a pretty good day.  

Her stomach growled.  Glancing at the time she realized it was already 1900.  She needed some dinner.  On her way to the mess she passed a meditating Rev.  The Wayist glanced up at her from his position on the floor and smiled.  "Dinner?" he asked.  Beka nodded.  

"Care to join me?"

"Maybe Master Harper would prefer to dine with you.  By the sounds coming from that room the boy hasn't stopped for a meal."

"Wow, I will then.  Thanks Rev" she started to walk down the hall again but added, "Thanks for giving the kid space.  It's not your fault Maggog wig him out."

"Ah, it is just a grim reminder of the cruelty of my brothers who have not found the Way."

"He'll be gone and things should be back to normal day after tomorrow."  Then she headed for the engines again. 

Harper was hanging like a bat from a coolant pipe in the ceiling of the engine room.  He was making adjustments midway up on a conduit that clung to the wall.  Beka gaped at him.  "You ready for a break Harper?"

"Yeah, like you pay for me to take breaks"

"Harper I got you at 8 in the morning.  You aren't due back until 2300, that's 15 hours!"  Harper dropped from the bar he hung from.  

He nodded, "yep" as if he didn't understand why Beka thought this was unusual.

"You job lets people work you 15 hours without stopping to eat or rest?"

"They want happy customers; customers don't like to see their investments slacking."

"You're not an investment, you're a person.  How can your company treat you like that?"

"I'm just glad to have work Boss" Beka sighed.  She had been through some tough times when work was scarce.  She wondered how much she would be able to give up to avoid scraping together some life on an alien street. Probably more than she thought.  

"Well we are having dinner then."  

She sat the bony young man in a chair at the table.  He glanced around nervously.  This had not happened on any of his other jobs.  

            "What do you want to eat?" she asked.  He looked beyond confused.  In his entire life this question had never been posed to him.  No one even asked him if he wanted to eat, let alone giving him a choice.  Beka realized her mistake and set a bowl of leftover soup in front of her guest.  Holding the spoon like a barbarian he consumed the food faster than Beka would have though possible. 

She told herself that she didn't care about hard luck cases, that she had a hard life herself.  The simple scene of this young man crouching on her kitchen chair licking the bowl clean made her doubt these things."  She really had never gone hungry in her life.  She assumed he did regularly.  He bounced off the chair.

"Thanks Boss, that was real nice of you."  He spun on his heel and headed back to the engines humming happily.  A bowl of soup and a 15 minute break had made this the absolute best job he had ever had.   

Harper kept working after his diner.  At precisely 2300 there was a knock on the Maru's hatch.  At the door was the girl from her search for an engineer.  Beka was confused.  The girl only smiled a sly smile at Beka.  "824 ready to go?"  She asked

"Yes, I was just letting him go.  Are you his keeper?"  Beka was a little annoyed Personnel Unlimited hadn't trusted her.

"Not at all ma'am.  The company doesn't even know I'm here.  It's just some of 824's lady clients think he's a little more like 3492 and get a bit aggressive.  I'm just making sure he doesn't need help."  It took Beka a minute to understand what this girl had said.  Before Beka could think of a response Harper appeared behind her.  

"771, she's cool."

"Good" Harper turned to Beka

"I'm practically done.  You're already space worthy.  I still need to work on the sensors and maybe the weapons tomorrow."  He fished around in his oversized pants pockets and retrieved a card with simply "82420" written on it.  "If you want me tomorrow just ask" he explained.  Beka nodded and watched the boy head off with the girl.  She expected friendly banter, maybe a playful shove between friends as she watched them cross the few hundred feet to the building.  It didn't happen.  Harper was dragging his feet, clearly reluctant to return.  The girl seemed to understand and just nodded.  Beka watched the door close behind them.  She didn't understand.  That kid made no sense.


	3. ***Three***

Just Another Commodity

By:  X

X0832001@yahoo.com

Rated PG-13 for Cursing 

Disclaimer:  I own nothing and am getting no money

"I was in here yesterday.  I'd like Harper again."  Beka had returned, bright and early the next day to get Harper to finish the job.

"Who?"

"Harper"

"I'm sorry; we identify our employees by number.  Do you know his?"

"Uhm" she rooted through her pockets and found the card Harper had given her.  82420"

"Alright then" the secretary typed away at her key pad.  Then she frowned.  Beka frowned.  "82420 has died."  She tapped a few more keys.  "May I suggest 771983, she has been healing quite well and we offer a reduced rate on her services."

"What!  Harper's dead?!"  Looking a little put out the secretary tapped a few more keys.  

"82420 was selected to have a neural port put in.  He died soon after the surgery was complete; about 30 minutes ago."  Beka was shocked.  Rev put a hand on her shoulder.  

"I want to see him" she said

"That is completely against several of our policies.  I cannot allow you..." the secretary shut her mouth so fast her jaw clicked.  Rev was advancing on her and a growl bubbled in his throat.  The secretary pointed to a door behind her, threw them two scrapes of plastic from her desk and pretended to be totally engrossed in her computer.  

Sliding the plastic threw a card reader outside the door gained them entry to the sterile white room.  The room was empty except for a tall, solid, dark haired man at a sink cleaning blood from instruments and the body of the man who'd been repairing her ship yesterday.

The alive man looked up.  "What are you doing here?"  He demanded.  

"We knew him" she gestured to Harper.

"Oh, none of them have had visitors before." This had happened before.  "You can't hang around here though.  I've still got things to do, people to see."  He smiled, the bastard smiled and Beka wanted to rip that grin from his face.  She stepped closer to the bed.  

He was so still.  The metal port that had ultimately killed him shone brightly in the dim light and looked like an alien invader clutching the mudfoot's badly bruised throat.  Nobody had bothered to clean up the blood.  Red was smeared on pale skin and the table Harper laid on.  Streaks in the tabletop blood sickened her.  They were claw marks. He's been awake.  Maybe under a local, but he had spent his last minutes desperately trying to break free.  Bands still held the corpse across the forehead and under his arms.  They'd tied him down.  Tied down and struggling was how Harper left life.  Beka twisted her fingers in Rev's fur and held back her tears and her rage. It just wasn't right.  Yesterday that kid had been fixing her engines.  He'd cracked a few jokes and done an amazing job with the repairs.  Today he was a corpse; a lifeless bruised pile of flesh.  

The man stepped over to the body.  Looking down he shook his head.  "I knew he didn't stand a chance.  A little Earth runt like him, their bodies just aren't resilient enough.  I mean they grow up in pitiable little refugee camps.  God, their bodies are always a mess."

"You knew he wouldn't make it?"

"No doubt.  Earthers can be stubborn as hell, but being stubborn can't keep you alive."

"His body" mumbled Rev so softly Beka was the only one to hear.

"What are you going to do with the body?"

"Burn it.  Can't even salvage the damn port, it'd already made the connections in his brain when he bit it."  Beka couldn't believe how carelessly they spoke about Harper.  It was if he hadn't been a human life to them.  He was just 082420, easily replaceable by 082421, 082422 or any other kid desperate enough to give up everything.  

"Can I take it?" she asked.  She couldn't explain why, she hadn't known him well.  She normally didn't have this great revere for the dead.  But for some reason she wanted to at least bury the kid properly.  He seemed to deserve that.  

"Fine, save me the trouble."  

It took less than a second to undo the straps.  The medic, or mortician or murder depending on your view, leaned down and thrust his shoulder into Harper's middle.  Straightening up he let the body hang limply over his broad shoulder. "You going to carry him fur ball?"  Rev hurried over, repressed his urge to growl and take a large chunk from one of this man's vital organs, and cradled the younger man's body.  Then, without waiting for Beka he hurried for the door.  

Beka rushed after him.  "Rev!"  She called as he raced towards the Maru.  "Rev!" she yelled again.  He continued to ignore her until they were a good distance from the main compound and nearing their own ship.

"He's not dead." The Maggog explained.

"What?!"

"Very nearly so, but the boy still lives"

"Were you going to tell me?"

"I wasn't positive until now.  But, he doesn't smell like death.  He has a chance Beka."

Rev gently laid Harper on the lower bunk in crew quarters.  Beka scooped up the limp wrist and felt for a pulse.  After a few gut wrenching seconds she was pretty sure she had found the weak, sporadic beat of his heart.  Leaning her ear to his mouth she picked up a faint trace of breath.  Whirling around to face Rev she ordered, "He needs blood; get the transfusion kit from the first aid kit and a packet of insta-blood."  Beka happened to keep a few packages of the blood substitute.  They didn't need to be refrigerated and worked with all but the rarest human blood types.  She felt a little bad that she may be tempting Rev by having the blood around but right now she was thrilled to have it.  

Rev returned, dropped off the blood and went to pilot them off this moon.  They certainly didn't need Personnel Unlimited Inc. finding out their employee was still alive.  Also, they needed to get him to a doctor that would prefer him alive.  Death probably broke whatever contract Harper had.  Rev found himself growling at the thought of the indifferent man back on the moon.  He'd have quite a lot of mediating and prayer to do tonight.

            The doctor said it was an utter miracle the boy was still alive; the luckiest kid he'd encountered.  When the swelling went down in his brain and they'd pumped him so full of blood and chemicals Beka was sure the tiny kid would burst, it looked like he'd pull through.  Beka and Rev were both thrilled.  

            But Beka wondered if the kid would be thrilled.  They'd kidnapped him away from his job.  Maybe he had friends there.  He could have been there for years; he had been there at least 2 years of his young life.  She and Rev had plucked him out of the life he knew and she realized she'd assumed he's work on the Maru. 

Harper was still far too weak to consider a matter as important as what he wanted to do with his life.  The boy couldn't support the weight of his own head long enough to drink a glass of water. Luckily salvage was a business that lent itself well to also playing nurse.  Beka rummaged the ship for the requested valuables and was still able to look in on Harper as he gained his strength back.  Like a mother hen she kept him tucked in and made sure he took all his meds and drank plenty of water (with a little help). He'd wake up occasionally but was mostly incoherent.  Beka would smile at him as he mumbled and his eyes rolled around wildly or were just closed.  Something in this kid just brought out her motherly instincts.  So the Maru went on the little run they had found and the boy slept.  Harper had never in his life been so well treated.  

Rev was there when he woke up aware of where he was.  He was sitting on the corner of the bed, reading aloud to his patient when he heard him moan.  "What the hell was I drinking last night?" followed in a mumbled tone. 

"Master Harper, you're awake!"

"I'm too stubborn to die."  Seeing the person he was conversing with was Rev the boy tried to bolt but couldn't get himself out of bed. 

"I won't hurt you Master Harper" the Maggog assured him.  Weak, in pain, dizzy, and sore Harper lay back down.

"So you are like the Casper the Friendly Ghost of Maggog…"

Beka could not believe her eyes.  After finishing the salvage she had set a course for their next big job.  Once the navigation was set she decided to check on Harper.  She found the mudfoot sitting up, talking to Rev and not screaming.  Would the wonders never cease?  "Hey" she greeted

"Hi-ya boss"

"I see you're feeling better."

"Yeah, Rev told me about what happened."  He gingerly touched the port in his neck.  "And about this thing" Beka nodded. 

"We won't make you stay with us; if you want we can drop you off somewhere.  Even back with Personnel Unlimited if you want."  She hoped he didn't want to go back.  He deserved much better than the way they treated him there.  She was pleased with his response.  

He struggled to pull himself up farther in the bed. "No! I want to stay here boss."

"Are you sure?"

"Boss, no one has ever done anything like this for me.  I wanna stay." 


End file.
